


Babysitting Is A Stupid Thing

by coffeefudge



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Babysitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-17
Updated: 2012-08-17
Packaged: 2017-11-12 08:25:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/488754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeefudge/pseuds/coffeefudge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dirk really hates all babysitters. Well, maybe not all of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Babysitting Is A Stupid Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Oh well okay let's try to write again haha. But this is kind of based off of the events that Pancake wrote about the alpha!Striders past I suppose.

You don't like your brother. You love him, but at the same time you don't. There were lots of things you didn't like about him. Tons. You could go on and on for a while, listing all the things about your brother that made your nose wrinkle and your fists clench. Like, you hate how he tends to leave home. A lot. You hate how he sometimes forgets that you hate pickles when he's ordering your happy meal from McDonalds. You even hate how when you walk into the same room as him with your arms wrapped around Cal, and he flinches like your little friend is about to strike him down. But there's one thing that gets you the most. One little thing that makes you want to punch him where the sun don't shine.

He thinks you need a babysitter.

You were seven, okay? Seven. You were perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. You knew when to wake up, how to make suitable food, how to use the bathroom, when to go to bed. Not too long ago, you realized that you were finally tall enough to reach the microwave, so shoving a prepackaged container of Chef Boyardee in there to feed yourself wouldn't be difficult. Dave might not know it yet, but you're not as puerile as he thought you were. I mean, just because you watch My Little Pony and played with dolls didn't mean you were childish, did it?

Dave shakes his hand before he lets him in. You notice how taut Dave is when he grips your babysitter's hand, making the hold firm and curt before allowing him inside.

(You can tell how Dave feels about people with he shakes their hand. If it's quick and loose, then that means he doesn't really care about whoever the owner of the hand he's shaking is. But if it's stiff and drawn out, businesslike you like to call it, it means he's interested about the person, or at least knows he has to show them that he's being serious. It's just one of his many personal quirks you've caught onto while living with your brother.)

Dave is already telling the guy what he needs to know, pulling on his jacket as he rushes through the list. What's his face just nods and replies with 'yes sir' or 'I know' over and over until Dave finishes. When he does, he waves at you before grabbing the rest of his things and rushing out the door, closing it behind him.

You finally get a good like at the guy when he turns to look at you. He's tall, lean, not exactly well built but not skinny either. He has muscle, but not much. His hair is a really dark ginger colour and very short, a little stubble on his chin. The colour of his eyes is hard to determine because okay wow they might even be black they're so dark. His outfit is simple: a plain white t-shirt and a pair of worn out jeans. Well, he looks normal.

He walks up to you, a crooked smile on his face. You just stare up at him, eyes hidden behind your dark shades, expression blank. After a few long moments of nothing but silence, you turn on your heel and walk away, marching right into the living room and seating yourself on the couch. You can hear him join you in the living room as you turn on the TV and switch it to your favourite channel.

Without hesitation, he sits beside you, not sensing your unsettlement when you realize that he's sitting literally right beside you. You try to ignore his presence, keeping your gaze fixated on the screen.

"What are you watching?"

His question catches you off guard and makes you flinch. This is the first time you've heard him talk and you had been expecting him to be polite and stay silent so you could watch your program in peace.

"My Little Pony," you reply flatly, not even bothering to cast him a glance.

"My Little Pony? You serious?" he chuckles. "Man, I thought only little girls who play with dolls watched that show. Didn't know that b--"

"I play with dolls." you tell him sharply, an undercurrent of annoyance in your voice.

Your bitter statement shuts him up. Thankfully, he was smart enough to realize that you didn't want him talking. Even though you know he was just joking around, you got enough crap from Dave about liking MLP and playing with your puppets-- which he calls dolls-- so you weren't that keen on letting this guy tease you about it either, jokingly or not.

The episode ends and you turn off the TV, uninterested in anything else that might be on. The silence you two shared earlier has now returned. He shifts beside you and you can tell he feels a bit awkward just sitting here with the both of you being completely quiet. You consider the idea of trying to make conversation, though you're not sure what you would even talk about. You're actually still on the considering part because you're not sure you even want to talk to him. It wasn't him, okay? It was just because he was the babysitter. _Your_ babysitter. _You didn't need a babysitter._ Not only that, but he didn't really make a good first impression, him making fun of you and your ponies and all.

"... So, Dirk, right?" he asks. You jump again, his voice dragging you away from your thoughts and back to reality.

"Yes," you reply, looking over at him. "What's your name?"

"Sawtooth," he tells you and you giggle on the inside. Sawtooth. You liked that name.

"Are your parents' names Sine and Square?" you ask as a faint smile pulls on the corners of your lips.

He laughs. He. Laughs. He gets your joke. Usually, when you make jokes or puns about robots or science or puppets, Dave doesn't always get it. But this guy. He got it. He. Got. It.

"Naw man, you were close though," he grins when you raise your eyebrow. "My little bro, his name is Squarewave, but I call him Square for short. Well, at least that's what I'm gonna do."

He notices your confusion, which motivates him to continue.

"Ya see, my little bro ain't born yet. But he'll be here soon. In about..." he pauses to think. You see his fingers twitching and it takes you a moment to realize that he's counting. "... Two or three months. Think the doc said he'd be here in December."

"What day?" you didn't hesitate to ask.

"Dunno," he shrugs. "Gotta wait until he gets closer to coming out."

He looks over at the clock and makes a face, getting to his feet. He stretches a bit and you stare at him as he turns to you, his smile returning.

"How about we talk some more while I make you some dinner, sound cool?"

"Yeah," you grin and follow him into the kitchen, sitting at the table while he opens the fridge.

As you sit there, you realize that all the disdain and hostility you felt for him only minutes ago had vanished. You actually kind of liked this guy. You could tell that he didn't necessarily fit the stereotypical uneducated babysitter who throws frat parties when they were suppose to be watching a juvenile category. He obviously had some education if he understood your joke earlier, and he was pretty laid back and chill, not too uptight or strict. A smart, easygoing guy who could make you food and tuck you in at night. Yeah, you and Sawtooth were going to get along just fine.

 

You learn a lot about him over dinner. You learn that he's seventeen and is planning to go to college when he finishes high school. You learn that he likes to rap, and he even spits out a couple verses for you and he's actually really good at it. You learn that he has the same birthday as Dave. You make a mental note that now you have to make Sawtooth a birthday present too. You also learn a lot about his family and personal life. He has a girlfriend, her name is Angel. His dad is a construction worker and his mum is a nurse. He tells you that he's worried about his brother. You ask him why. He stays silent.

You ask him of it was because his mum had trouble carrying babies.

He says yes.

You tell him that your mum had the same problem, that it was a miracle you were probably even here right now.

He's still quiet.

You tell him that your mum got pregnant a lot, but you and Dave were the only ones that made it. You tell him about how your mum got depressed a lot and stayed in bed most of the time. You tell him about your dad and how he yelled a lot and drank a lot and hurt Dave a lot. You tell him that you don't have parents anymore because they're dead and Dave doesn't like talking about them so you don't whenever he's around.

You two are quiet for the longest time. You wonder what he's thinking about. You think that he's thinking about your parents and your brother and his parents and his brother. And he's probably thinking that you're thinking that he's thinking that because he _is_ thinking that and he gets up and gives you a hug.

"I'm sorry to hear that, little man..." he whispers, giving you a squeeze.

You feel weird. Dave is the only one that calls you little man. Everyone else just calls you Dirk. The hug makes you feel weird too. Dave used to hug you a lot when you were younger, but you guess that you've grown out of that. Now he only hugs you when you start to cry during a thunderstorm. It feels weird. But it feels nice too.

You hug him back.

"It's okay... You don't have to apologize..." you murmur, trying your best to wrap your arms around his back. "It's not your fault."

Your lips stretch wide in a yawn and you lean against Sawtooth as you struggle to remain conscious. You guys had been talking for quite while, it was probably already passed your bed time. He gives you another squeeze and the next thing you know, you're laying in bed listening to a distant voice sing you the sweet words of a lullaby.

 

The next morning you wake and Sawtooth is gone. Dave is in the kitchen making pancakes when you walk in, yawning as you sit at the table. Like usual, Dave tries to start a conversation with you in an attempt to wake you up, even though your mind is still opaque from your slumber.

He asks you if you had fun with the babysitter.

You correct him a by saying Sawtooth but, answer his question with a yes.

He asks you if you would want Sawtooth to babysit again.

You say yes.

And probably for the first time in your life, you pray that Dave would get called to the office early again. There's still a lot you want to know about Sawooth; about his brother and his family and he's lifestyle and wow that may sound a bit too creepy but, Sawtooth is interesting and you love learning about things so why not put the two together?


End file.
